Operation Detachment
by Kaito Sekozawa
Summary: Two men from California, friends since childhood, end up in one of the most bloodiest battles in the Pacific Theater of World War Two. Will the pair survive to return home? A retelling of the Iwo Jima campaign from the American perspective.
1. Chapter 1

**February 19, 1945**

 **Off the coast of Iwo Jima**

James suddenly awoke to the sounds of turrets firing. Rubbing his eyes, he looked at Leslie's watch with its black leather band. Well, the watch that she gave to him when he left their small California town. The finely crafted face read 1:50am. Anxious for the imminent battle, he hops out of his top bunk onto the cold metal floor with a soft landing and wakes up his friend David. Shaking him awake, James harshly whispers, "You hear the artillery?"

David mumbles, "Shut up and get back to sleep." He pulls his blankets back over himself and tried to go back to sleep.

Impatient, James yanks David out of the bottom bunk as if he was a potato sack and opens the bulkhead out into the dark, pipe-lined, metal hallway. Out in the hallway, David shakes himself from his grogginess. Crabby from being rudely awoken, he shouted softly. "The hell do you want James? You know what time it is now?"

David freezes as if lost in thought, then asks, "What is the time anyway?"

"It's about 2 o'clock", James instantly responds.

"Yeah! Exactly! The Sam Hill are you doing, going around at two in the morning, waking me up?"

James furiously walks back and forth through the hallway. David sighs, his curiosity getting the better of him as well as his worry, "What's the matter, James?"

He stops his pacing and put his finger on his chin, thinking for a bit. Hesitating for a minute as he tried to figure out how to communicate his anxiousness for the upcoming battle. That they'll be landing on Iwo Jima in the morning and finally fighting the Japanese. He opens his mouth and begins, then shuts up. Growing tired of James not explaining himself, David begins heading back, waving his hand in a piss-off gesture. "James, if you don't have anything important to say, I'm going back to sleep. Seriously. You always pull this bullshit everytime. I mean honestly…"

"Wait."

David stops right in his tracks right outside the door to their room. James pauses and then continues, "Today's the day, David. Today's the day."

"The day?" quizzically asks David. "The hell is that supposed to me-

He pauses as he immediately figured out why James was acting like this. David then affirms, "Oh, it is the day."

The other of the pair looks in the distance and then turns back to David. He reminiscences with an air of nostalgia. "David, you've been my best friend since our days in California. You have been with me through thick and thin! Remember the shit we pulled at home as kids?"

James finishes with a chuckle as he recalls the sunny Californian days of their youth. The escapades they played on their neighbors. Before the war, that is.

"James, you think I don't remember when we stole that sweetroll from that kid across the street? Or when you fell in love with Leslie and tried to confess by giving her a-"

"Don't even mention that!", James indignantly yells, cutting off David's recalling of their childhood as he tried to banish that embarrassing incident from his memory. His face turns red at the thought of what happened that one fateful day before the war.

David chuckles at James's reaction. "It's so easy getting a reaction from you. You are too easy man."

James smiled, but reverted to his previous glum expression. Noticing the quick change of mood, David decided to change the topic as he understood that his best friend wanted to talk about something important.

"James, what is the matter?"

"When we joined the army, did you ever think we would actually fight the war? Did you?"

"Not really. I never really thought about it…"

James continues, "I'm just jittery, I mean... we're going to fight the Japanese! We are actually going to fight the damn Japs! I'm just so… What if we-"

David comes over and puts his hand firmly on James's right shoulder. "Don't even think about it James. We are not going to die. We're going to come back home and take a shiny medal home to Mom and Dad. Maybe a Jap sword. The point is that-"

"What if we just die pointlessly on the beach? What if we both never came back?"

David froze. He never really thought about it. Then again, David wasn't really good at thinking about the consequences. He always got the duo into trouble back home and usually tackled his problems head on. James would try to be the voice of reason such as when David wanted to try stealing the neighbor's delectable sweet rolls or egging someone's window.

"I'll think of something. I always do. You know me James. We'll pull through.", David hastily says, not believing what he just said.

"But this isn't a prank we could just play on our neighbors and teachers and hope to get away with it. One wrong mistake and we could die on that beach. We could never see our family again. Our grave would be on that island.", James bemoans.

David couldn't think of how to respond. The pair felt silent. Only the hum of the ship and distant reports of artillery fire interrupted the quiet. After what felt like an eternity...

"Well, let's not die uselessly then. Our deaths will not be in vain, for we are putting our lives at risk to protect our nation and to help the world. We are not useless or meaningless, for we do have the power to affect the war, no matter how small we seem on the grand scheme of things." He stands proud with his eyes toward the sky and his body in a salute. Smiling at James and putting his arm around his neck, he drags James back to their room.

"C'mon man, let's go back to sleep. We'll need the rest." James nods, looking hopeful. The pair head back into the room and fall back asleep in their respective bunks. After the pair wished each other a good night's sleep, James stares into space and thinks about what's going to happen during the battle. Despite the horrible things that could potentially happen, he found comfort in David's words. Relaxing; the snores of their comrades, the hum of the ship, and the distant gunfire eventually lulled him to sleep.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I noticed that there wasn't really much stories for Red Orchestra 2 or Rising Storm and I find World War II to be a fascinating topic. I have never really wrote a proper war story before and I wanted to try writing one. What better way than to write a story about one of my favorite war games? Please rate and review!

 ** _-Kaito Sekozawa_**


	2. Chapter 2

There is a hustle and bustle of soldiers as they clamored to line up for breakfast. The mess hall was lively: full of the clangs of pots and pans, the shouts of soldiers and personnel, the sizzling of bacon and eggs, and the pushing and shoving that was the strife of the line. At the tables were the soldiers and sailors who got their food, laughing as they ate what may be their last meal. Many were still in line, waiting for their breakfast.

David sighed as he waited in the line. He pulled at his dog tags to alleviate the boredom. At least James and him weren't far back in the line like their other friends. The person ahead was getting served. Curious about what today's meal was despite weeks of living on the ship making the food predictable and bland, David stood on his toes as best as he could to peer over the tall person in front of him. Beef stew was being ladled into the ahead person's bowl along with a small bowl of bacon and eggs in a bowl. Seemed better than most of the crap he was served for the last few weeks. The person ahead got served and David proceeded to go get served his meal.

"So what's the meal Chef?", David joked with the cook. It was a known fact among the soldiers that the meals served on this ship in particular were the worst in the fleet. Well, maybe not the worst, but the food was extremely bland or generic. He held his bowl out and the cook started ladling food into it.

The cook sarcastically replied with a twang of a Southern accent, "You know. The usual five-star gourmet. Good 'ol steak with some mashed potatoes. Great stuff.", and also put some bacon and eggs on David's plate.

Grimacing in a joking manner, he replied, "This food is impeccable like always. Thanks!" The cook knew that the food was shit but he appreciated the courtesy that David showed. David heads off and sits at a table near the wall. James heads up and went to get his food.

"I apologize for my friend's behavior if he bothered you. He's just joking around.", James said, being concerned that the cook might be genuinely angry at what David had said. The cook ladled the stew in the bowl and handed it to him. He smiled and laughed while James's face crinkled up in bewilderment.

"It's okay. I'm just sarcastic. Plus, it's potentially your last day in this great 'ol world. You have the right to joke around a little.", the cook replied. "David's my drinking pal when we're off duty, that is. Don't worry about it." He waves James off and hurries serving the next people. James gives him a quizzical expression and starts heading through the crowded mess hall to David's table.

In the mass of soldiers in their white shirts and green BDU pants, he sees David with his blonde hair waving for him to come over to the table. He proceeds to walk over through the crowd toward David. They sit down and dine on the beef stew. David eats it sloppily and quickly. Evident by the loud slurping noises and dribbling of some of the stew from his mouth. James ate slowly and methodically, savoring every bite. The stew was hot and tasted rich with its beef, potatoes, and other vegetables in a thick sauce. The aroma floated up into their noses as they ate and the taste, exquisite for military cuisine.

James eats a spoonful of stew. He doesn't say anything. Wondering if James felt less nervous now due to the awkward silence, David asks slowly, "So you okay now?"

"Oh yeah! Thanks man, I don't know what I was thinking. I was just frightened.", James quickly replies, almost caught off-guard as he consumed his breakfast. "I was eating. My bad!"

"Oh. You know that's completely normal, right? "

"I'm just uneasy… About the fact that we're fighting the war. After all, we've been at sea for weeks, sailing to this damn island in the middle of the Pacific for what seems like no reason at all.", James answers. Saying that aloud, he realized that he didn't even know why they were heading to Iwo Jima to begin with. There isn't any apparent reason that can come to his head. He asks, "Why did we come out here to this island in particular anyway?", hoping that David might know.

David shrugs and thinks for a bit. James continues eating while David leans back in his chair. "I don't really know either. But we're so close to Japan. Can you believe that it's only several hundred miles away from here? We'll be hitting the mainland soon, I bet ya." The confident aura that emanated from what he just said felt unbelievable, even to himself. Trying to remember the random information that he hears time to time, he continues, "I heard that we're taking this island so we could use it a stepping stone to Japan."

"Japan, huh…", James looks away, staring past his friend. Looking lost in thought, David shakes him and tries to get his attention. "Hey, James. You okay man?" James shakes his head and resumes eating. Several soldiers pass by with their freshly cooked meals and sit down at adjacent tables. Two sit next to James and David. James looks up as well as David at the newcomers to the table.

"Morning David. James.", the pair of fellow soldiers say with chipper spirit. They ate their stew as quickly as James, digging in with great relish. James and David greet them back, "Morning Jason, morning Milton." Milton and Jason were their buddies since training and hailed from Texas. Raised on a cattle ranch, they are huge barbecue enthusiasts and enjoyed drinking as much as David.

Milton was the older of the pair. With his big, circular glasses, he had a certain condescending air, reinforced by a buzzcut. Sorta reminiscent of Heinrich Himmler. Jason was taller, despite Milton being older. He looked like somebody who could be in the motion pictures with his broad shoulders, his smirk, and stereotypic blonde hair and blue eyes that would make Hitler blush.

"Damn, the food tastes like shit!", Milton exclaims, pushing up his circular framed glasses up the bridge of his nose. He continues eating despite his apparent disgust with the food. "Jason, you agree, right? Ma could make better food than this crap. God, her apple pies were the best!"

Jason ate just as quickly as David if not more. He replied as best as he could with his mouth full of stew, "Better than the crap that we ate in boot camp. Remember those terribly made grits, why I oughta-"

"You always say that your mother's a better cook than everyone else though. You make it sound like all food is shit." David points out. The military had decent rations and really good food occasionally. Compared to the civilian populace, they weren't affected by rationing so they got plenty of meat, coffee, and chocolate.

Muffled by the food in his mouth, Jason replies, "Well, it's true. When we get back home, Milton and I are going to take you to Ma's house and we are going to show you the good 'ol Texan barbecue." He swallows his food and continues, "You ain't lived yet until you tried my Ma's pork ribs in her special barbecue sauce. It tastes like heaven in your mouth!"

James speaks, "We'll take you guys up on that offer. Right David?"

David nods in agreement. Suddenly, the loudspeaker buzzed and crackled and the command spoke. "Report to battle stations. The landing is now commencing. All soldiers enter the landing craft by 0800." Jason jumps a bit in his seat. Everybody in the canteen headed out in a chaotic fashion, hurrying to prepare for battle.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well... Writing this chapter was a challenge. I am rather inexperienced with writing conversations and making them... you know, readable. The next few chapters are probably going to be a struggle and a half, writing proper combat scenes. Please rate and review so I can improve!

 **- _Kaito Sekozawa_**


	3. Chapter 3

**February 19, 1945**

 **Southern Beach, Iwo Jima**

The landing crafts slowly lower from the ship. James stares longingly at the ship that the four men had been on for months until now. All the landing crafts slowly went down as equipment was distributed to the men. Their guns, their rations, their supplies; everything needed to fight the Japs. However, despite the fact that the Japanese are losing the war and the Americans clearly have the upper hand… James couldn't shake the feeling of unease. The feeling of dread. The thought of actually fighting once again brought butterflies in his stomach.

"This is it, the war. The war that I left home to fight for. To defend my country." He thought to himself. David was also gazing at the ship. Milton and Jason as well. In fact, every single one of the Marines were looking at the ships. None were really eager to fight. Some of the new recruits were puking up some of their breakfast. The landing craft swayed gently like a yo-yo above the water. They immediately drop with loud splashes into the war. Loud beckoning of commands fill the air as the landing craft head to their destination, Iwo Jima.

The constant whirring sounds of the dogfights and the firing of the fleet's artillery along with Japanese anti-aircraft fire fill the early morning. Soldiers who weren't awake earlier were certainly awake, alert, and anxious. Iwo Jima's coast was within eye distance now. James gulps. n the left on a portion of the island, jutting out from the coast was a tall mountain which loomed over most of the island. It stood out to the people on the landing craft as they approached the shore of volcanic black ash of the beach.

A Japanese plane implodes and falls in the water, but as it hits the water, its American pursuer flies low and rises up, continuing its battle with the enemy planes. Awestruck, James decides to turn to David. The dark silhouettes of the fighters contrasted greatly against the white and gray overcast, resembling shadow puppets. As they approached the island, the sulfuric smell of the beach and the dust of the ash that formed the beach clashed with the salty, fresh ocean air.

"We're finally landing, James." David says, holding his Garand tightly. He appeared on edge; his breathing quick and rapid, his eyes darting back and forth, the stutter in his speech. All this showed the anxiety, the fear. James decides to say something but decides to stay silent, checking his Springfield.

"Shit man. I never thought it would be like this…" David hunches over and covers his face. James put his hand on his shoulder. Milton was inspecting his Thompson while Jason was checking his magazines for his M1911. The boat suddenly rocks as a large wave hits it, with huge sprays of water all around the ship. David gets up and looks at James. "Thanks man. I feel a lot better now."

The thirty-some soldiers on the Higgins boat felt a thud as the landing craft hit shore. A grinding noise was heard as the front opened. "Let's get on the beach boys!", the lieutenant shouts. Orders were being shouted left and right, many soldiers were rushing up onto the beach, and the vehicles and other equipment getting deployed.

The first soldiers to arrive, marched forward on the coast of the southern tip of the island. They headed toward the mountain on the left side of the beach. New soldiers were coming in as more landing craft vehicles came to the beaches and back out to the ships. David, James, Milton, and Jason watched as the forward group cautiously advanced forward. There was no Japanese presence in sight. Soldiers continued unloading and equipping themselves on the beach. A member of the forward group shouts, "Where the fuck are all the Japs!"

Another up ahead shouts, "Probably in their holes in the ground!"

"Maybe they're all dead.", bellows one of the advancing soldiers.

"You think the Japs are all dead?", Milton asked.

"Probably.", Jason replies. He shrugs as he thinks about the lack of any Japs.

"Why the Sam hell are we here on this goddamn island if there are no Japs then?" Milton's point made Jason wary. He instinctively darted around and looked for any sign of enemy activity. When his eyes failed to see any sign of the Japanese around the island, he pulled out his Springfield and used the scope on it to peer around. Nothing in the sparse vegetation, nothing on the hill, nothing in sight. Jason starts looking around desperately as if he forgot something important. David and James, puzzled at Jason's seemingly paranoid behavior, looked at Jason with bewildered expressions.

"Jason, what are you doing? There's no one here.", David remarks. "You okay man? Milton, you aren't concerned about what Jason's doing?"

Jason turns around and had a frightened expression on his face. His eyes gave the look of urgency and he spoke with a shiver, "That's what the Japs want us to think. They are going to ambush us as soon as we advance."

James comes over and puts a hand on Jason's shoulder, causing him to jump. "Holy crap man! You scared the shit out of me! Don't do that!", he yells. Some soldiers in the vicinity look over and turn back around to whatever they were doing before.

"I was just trying to see if you're okay. You seem a bit paranoid."

"It's not paranoia if they are out to get ya. I should know if they are going to ambush us. I killed my family a bunch of wild game back in Texas. I've trapped some deer and quill. I know traps when I see 'em.", Jason replies.

"You should trust Jason on this. He's an amazing hunter back home. Bagged a deer with a rifle about a hundred yards away." Milton confirms.

"We should probably not go up as long as possible." David suggests. The group agreed. David glanced around and they looked extremely anxious.

Hoping to lighten the tense mood, he says, "Hey, we should probably check our gear. You know, make sure everything is properly loaded and all that?" The group nods and starts checking their mags and guns. David checks his M1 Garand and pulls out his en-bloc clips from his belt pouches. Milton pulls the charging handle of his M1A1 Thompson and takes a twenty-round clip and loads it. A subtle click was heard as James loaded his M1 Carbine. Meanwhile, Jason took his M1903A1 Springfield and pulled the bolt back. Checking the ammo, he pushes it back again. More and more soldiers come up the beach from the landing craft.

David finished his equipment check. He had his rations and water, a functioning Garand and M1911, and his miscellaneous gear.

"You guys done?"

"Yep."

"Ready."

"Done checking mine."

The CO of their platoon comes over to the group and says, "We're the next platoon up. Gear up if you haven't already! We're going in five." He walks off to get the other members. As soon as he left, the group started talking again.

"Son of a bitch. Of all the goddamn platoons that are going first, it had to be our fucking platoon heading up.", complained Jason. "Don't they know that we're just going to get slaughtered?"

"It's war, what are we supposed to do? Sit here and wait for the Japs to kill us?", David replies. Jason falls silent. "Let's just follow orders and hope we survive to see tomorrow."

"I agree with David. The CO's over there. He's calling everyone over." James says. Milton nods with agreement. David proceeds to lead the group over to meet with the rest of the platoon. As they trudged through the volcanic sand of the beach toward their commanding officer, machine gun shots ring out from the hill and in front of the advancing soldiers.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Well, I finally wrote Chapter 3. Safe to say that this is probably the biggest fanfic I have wrote so far. Writing this story has challenged me greatly so far. I hope you enjoyed reading this story so far. The actual battle is going to be really interesting... Thanks again for reading the story! Please rate and review so I can get better!

 ** _-Kaito Sekozawa_**


	4. Chapter 4

Lying on the sand in the beach, James hears the shouts of his fellow men. Screams echoed from the front guard as machine gun fired on the advancing soldiers. The thought that he can die was finally real. No need to ponder death if it's right there in front of you. He was curled up on the floor like a slug behind a tiny slope which provided his platoon and several others cover. Artillery hit the beach causing several groups of soldiers to disappear in smoke. Out of the smoke sprayed ash, blood, and bits of flesh. The Marines return fire as best as they could, but there were many casualties left and right. James curls up even tighter putting his hand over his face, hoping for an end to the violence that wouldn't come. He shut his eyelids and tried to cover his ears, hoping to shut out the screams, the despair of the battlefield.

"Save me.", he whispered to himself and then reopens his eyes to the sight of the overcast sky, "Save me, God. Save me from this godforsaken hell." The gray and white clouds didn't answer. He rocks back and forth as soldiers run past. Suddenly, James felt a hand grabbing him. Frightened, he took his pistol and aimed it at his captor, screaming loudly, "You'll never take me, you fucking Japs!" The person turns around. It was his friend David. Feeling sheepish, James winces and scratches the back of his head as he holsters his Colt. David looks at him with great concern.

"James, get a hold of yourself!", David urges James, "We'll make it, but you have to stay with us. Stay calm. We've been taking cover and digging foxholes to avoid their damn bunker fire." As James heard this, he realized that he had been panicking for a while. He sees a flamethrower team burn out a forward bunker up ahead and a nearby machine gun team operating an M1917 Browning. Bullets were shot from both ends of the beach, ricocheting off the rocks or hitting the ground making tiny dirt spouts. Feeling a tight grip in both of his hands, James looks up at David. They stay back as soldiers around them go up into the chaos of the battlefield.

Casualties were mounting on both sides, but the Americans were doing miserably. Unprepared for the ambush, they lost many in the initial advance. The veterans who had fought in previous campaigns like Guadalcanal and Peleliu, were thrown off, but led the rookies in the battle. Adjusting quickly to the new tactics that the Japs used, the Americans advanced steadily forward. Soldiers were still unloading on the beach in the meantime. Now though, there were several groups heading away from the battle, carrying wounded on the medical stretchers. More were still coming as the medics and some soldiers loaded them on the returning landing craft vehicles. James started to relax, his heart was racing less, and his breathing slowed. David was still back there with him, never leaving his friend.

"I think I'm all right now."

"You sure James? I mean, you seem-"

"Positive, I'm fine now. We didn't come here so I can sit back and be a coward anyway." James said with abrupt tone as he felt guilty for staying back while his fellow soldiers were suffering hell on earth. David started to speak and then stopped. They grab their gear. David crawled slowly and peered above the slope. There were so many soldiers and vehicles amassed together that the Japs couldn't miss at all. People were dropping left and right. Bangs, cracks, booms were heard throughout the beach. The surviving soldiers managed to dig shallow foxholes in the ashy beach, allowing the next groups of soldiers to take cover.

"You see the foxhole over there?", David yelled over the gunfire to James. He points to the nearby ditch which had about eight soldiers in it. James thought he saw Milton and Jason among the group in the ditch, but he dismissed it. Jap machine guns were still mowing down their fellow comrades left and right like they were just watering the lawn. There was almost nowhere to take cover besides the cliff where the beach sloped or the small foxholes dotting the terrain ahead.

Knowing what David want the pair to do, James replied loudly, "No!"

"Well, we're going to run over there anyway!", David bellows, "Ready? Go!"

David sprints across the ground toward the hole. James shakes his head and rolls his eyes, muttering, "You gotta be fucking kidding me." He runs out from cover after David. The Japs fire at the pair from their bunkers in the hills with their machine guns. In response, the Americans who noticed laid supporting fire. They both slide into the hole, kicking up a huge plume of volcanic ash as they dove. They grinned at each other and laughed. The soldiers in the hole stopped their covering fire and crouched back down. A rugged, middle-aged soldier approached the pair. It was their commanding officer. His rank was obvious by the emblem on his uniform and the imposing stature of the experienced veterans. He also had a wizened face similar to the texture of beef jerky. Hardy and wrinkly, but also tough.

"David, is he all right now?", he asked, "If he's that terrified of getting shot, he's going to get himself shot." He spat on the floor and grimaced. "Fucking ash of this motherfucking beach. It gets everywhere, in your shoes, in your uniform." The officer looked around at the people in the foxhole. "So everybody in the platoon made it. Good. We're going to need all the men we can in the next few days. The damn Japs have killed a lot already and it would be a damn shame if any of you were to die."

"He's all right now sir.", David reassures the commanding officer. James stares off into space, his eyes sunken and his pupils dilated. David walks over and shakes his hand in front of James's face. "You there, buddy?" Momentarily shaking his head like a wet dog, he quickly spoke, "Yeah I'm fine!"

The commanding officer looked quizzically at the pair. Suddenly, a pair of footsteps were heard near the group in the hole. The machine gun fire finally stopped, arousing the suspicions of the squad even further. It became silent. The soldiers could hear the quickening of each other's heartbeats and the rustling sounds of their equipment. They aim their weapons and peered over the top of the ditch, scanning for the enemy soldiers. James holds up his M1 Carbine, shaking so much that the gun was like a tree blustering from the wind. David takes his Garand and also helps scan the area around the foxhole. Meanwhile, the commander takes out his Model 12 shotgun. He pumps it, emptying a shell and takes a shell out slowly and methodically loading the shell into the shotgun. The shotgun's action clicked and he aimed the shotgun. Suddenly, two people rush up toward the Americans in the foxhole. Taken by surprise, the group aims their weapons at the pair. Shots were heard from both parties as the pair of soldiers ran to the hole.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Now that school is done for me, I can finally work more on Operation Detachment! I'm also working on my previous Touhou fanfiction, "The Adventures of the Sealing Club". Go check that story out! I'm in the process of rewriting and adding to that story! Thank you guys for your support as well and I hope you enjoy the story so far. Please rate and review so I can improve with your critique!

 _ **-Kaito Sekozawa**_


	5. Chapter 5

**February 19, 1945**

 **Southern Beach, Iwo Jima**

The two Japanese corpses laid in front of the American soldiers. Knocked back by the blast of the commander's shotgun, their chests were covered in blood. James looked on with horror, his eyes bulging and his breath shaking. Their bodies, an utter reminder of how cruel war was. An American went up and used his fingers to gently close their eyelids. He kneeled and prayed. The others stared at him. One asked, "The hell you doing, praying for these damn Japs?" The praying soldier, then got up and stared the questioning soldier in the eye. "Because I have respect for the dead. Unlike some people." They stare at each other angrily. The rest of the group lowered their weapons and looked ahead at the hills. The enemy bunkers were still firing on their comrades who were trying to advance on the beach. It was a mess as jeeps and soldiers clogging the path up ahead were trying to escape the slaughter. Many soldiers were stampeding, running away to the ocean in an vain attempt to find cover. Most never came back. Artillery struck many places, making huge plumes of dust while bullets peppered the rocks and ashy soil. Men were dropping left and right. The group crouched quickly back in their foxhole.

The commander was lost in thought, his index finger and his thumb under his chin in the "Thinker" pose. "So what are we going to do, sir?", another soldier asked. He stared at the soldier, scratched his nose and responded somberly. "I have no idea. The damn Japs are fighting smart for once. We're pinned down and the way forward is death and the way back is suicide." He pauses for a bit, taking a deep breath. Looking around, he took note of the men and the weapons in the foxhole. James and his M1 Carbine would probably be more suited for rushing quickly since his weapon was light. The low stopping power might be an issue though. David has a Garand and could provide some medium range fire, although he would have preferred David to have an Thompson. Meanwhile, his shotgun could take out a banzai charge easily, but the Japs were staying put in their damn bunkers. There were about seven other soldiers in the foxhole: a four man machine gun team with one Browning M1919, two soldiers with Springfields who were arguing earlier over the dead bodies, and one with an M3A1 submachine gun. He considered the current situation and assessed that the machine gun team wouldn't be able to be effective if they couldn't get a safe enough area with sufficient cover. Therefore, they either would have to set up here or the group would have to find cover. Milton and Jason were supposed to report back if there were any cover positions that would be helpful. Meanwhile, the pair with Springfields bickered, but they were decent shots. However, they would also need good cover to be able to be used effectively against the heavily fortified Jap bunkers. James seemed to be suffering from combat fatigue and David doesn't have enough firepower besides the kid with the M3A1. The commander looked at the Model 12 in his hand and shook his head at the thought of him going out. His shotgun can't hit anything beyond the range of a pistol. It would be futile. Wishing for a flamethrower to get rid of the damn bunkers, he sighed and slumped on the ground with a huge impact causing soot to fly everywhere.

David looked at the exhausted commander and remembered that Jason and Milton weren't back yet. The commander had ordered them to move up to see if they could scout out the Jap positions. It had been an hour since the pair had left. He opened his mouth to ask the commander about their whereabouts. Suddenly, two soldiers slided into the hole. It wa Milton and Jason. They were heavily panting, their faces covered with soot and grime and their uniforms caked with mud. Jason hurriedly took out his canteen and started drinking heavy gulps of fresh water. Milton was sweating furiously, taking out a rag and wiping his forehead. He then took off his glasses and began wiping them to get the soot off. The commander then asked, "You got anything to report?" Milton was grinning. He then said excitedly, "There's a bunch of rocks about several yards over there." He pointed to a pile of rocks near the mountain at the tip of island. "You see that mountain? According to the map, that's Mt. Suribachi."

"You think I don't know that Milton? We got orders to attack the airfield, not Suribachi." He furiously spoke to Milton.

Milton just continued grinning. "We're going to take a giant turn, avoiding the machine guns overlooking the beach and attack the airfield from the left side." He takes out his map and lays it on the flat surface of a worn rock in the ground. The group of soldiers started gathering around Milton and the CO. He points to the map showing how they would approach the first airfield. James looked on, starting to feel a lot better now that there might actually be a chance of success. David looks on as Milton and the commander heavily discuss the plan of attack. Jason stood by and silently spectated as they energetically discussed.

"From what I got from the other groups, we have taken heavy casualties so far. However, we are making progress. Our division is getting a foothold on Suribachi as we speak. They've cleared out some of the fortifications there so it would be much easier making the advance in the large turn as I described." Milton said.

"Any Jap positions that we should know about? Any problems?", the commander asked.

"We didn't get to close to the airfield, we mostly saw everything through binoculars and the scope of Jason's rifle" Jason adds, "I suggest that we ask the other platoons if they have a spare flamethrower that we can use. We couldn't get a really good look at the Jap positions so there might be bunkers that we haven't accounted for. The Japs seem to have very sophisticated defenses."

"They are fighting smart. Who is commanding them? Whoever he is, he's goddamn brilliant." He comments.

"What makes you think that, commander?", David asked.

"For starters, they haven't banzai charged at all! They haven't even advanced at all! They've been in their goddamned hidey-holes and they've mowing us down when we approached! They know that they have the upper hand and they're aren't stupid enough to lose it." He speaks with great frustration in his voice.

"You sound like you've fought the Japs before, commander." David points out.

"Damn right that I fought the Japs before." He puts a hand up, gesturing the rest of the group to be silent. The group shuts up and he orders, "We're moving out. We're going to be taking the fight to the Japs." They cheer and they start heading out to the great hill on the tip of the island, Mt. Suribachi.

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 **Author's Note:** And so, the plot thickens on this island in the Pacific Ocean. I really need to add in some actual combat scenes. I'm going to be updating way more now that it is summer and school isn't being a total bitch to my free time. Thank you guys for reading this story. If you want more, come check out my other story, "The Adventures of the Sealing Club." Please rate and review so I can improve my writing. Maybe suggest some ideas?

 ** _-Kaito Sekozawa_**


	6. Chapter 6

**February 19, 1945**

 **Vicinity of Mt. Suribachi, Near First Airfield**

The battlefield was hectic. Bullets rained everywhere as machine guns on both sides fired on each other. The volcanic mountain of Mt. Suribachi might as well be active, the death toll increasing like Krakatoa or Pompeii. Dust filled the air. It was hard to breath, the grime coating everything from the soldiers' uniforms and their guns. American corpses dotted the landscape with a few Japanese ones here and there. James' squad follow their commander hurriedly to a nearby rock. Hearing squishing sounds under his boots, James looks down at the ground. Out of the corner of his eyes, his squad moves ahead of him. Beneath his combat boots was the crushed body of a fellow American soldier. The dark, drying blooded spurted out of the corpse. He recoils, stepping back hurriedly. As he backpedaled, his feet landed on another corpse. This time, it was a Japanese corpse. The back of the boot caught the helmet and so, James falls backward onto the ground. Ash rose around him as he impacted the ground. He turns his head over and sees the other body, the Japanese corpse. He screams in horror as he sees the open eyes of the corpse staring back at him. Hastily, he got up from the ground, covered in blood-soaked soil, and ran to catch up with the rest of the group.

At the rock, the four man machine gun team was setting up their Browning M1919. One soldier is prone with the machine gun, already set up on its bipod. Another is loading the belt of .30 caliber ammunition into the top of the gun from an ammo box. The prone soldier takes aim and fires. Shots echo, sounding like a industrial sized sewing machine. Boxes of machine gun ammo were put in a pile next to the gunner by the third member of the team. While the three were setting up, the fourth took his Thompson and poked his head up to lay suppressing fire. As he was about to fire, a loud ding rang out among the gunfire and the whizzing of flying bullets. The brave soldier falls backwards with a jet of blood spraying out his helmet. As the body hit the ground, the rest of the machine gun team slumped down trying to minimize visibility of their bodies as much as possible. Maintaining suppressing fire with their machine gun, they sprayed into the battlefield, killing some Japs. Despite that, most were at their defenses, firing their machine guns and mortars, raining hell upon the Americans. James ran as fast as he could to the cover, cradling his M1 Carbine close to his body. Among the few Japanese corpses scattered across the battlefield, one got up and ran at James with a sword. The Jap charged at James, screaming, "Tenno heika banzai!". Like a hunter rushing to get his kill, the Jap raised his sword at James's head. James swung up his M1 Carbine and his right arm and sprayed and prayed. As the shots of his carbine finished ringing, the enemy soldier slumped to the ground, clutching something in his hand. Too shaken to move, James didn't catch the tiny grenade the soldier had in his grip. Suddenly a person dives at him and knocks him down. James panics, trying to get the soldier off of him. The grenade explodes.

Dazed by the explosion, James looks up at the person who just barely rescued him from the grenade. The soldier who saved him was Jason. He gets up and off James's body. Brushing the dirt off his uniform, he grinned at James. "Glad to see you are still alive and kicking." Jason reaches out with his hand. James grabs it and pulls himself off the ground. Both soldiers pick up their weapons, scattered from their fall. Jason took his Springfield and James took his M1 Carbine. "Let's get to cover before we end up like them.", Jason said. Nodding in agreement, James follows Jason toward the rest of the squad.

The pair run through the battlefield from cover to cover. From sandbags to the small rock mounds to the hastily dug foxholes. "David and Milton are ahead with the squad leader. The machine gun team stayed back to lay suppressing fire," Jason yelled. James asks, "Well, where are the rest of the squad? The two riflemen and that guy with the M3?" Responding back, Jason yells, "They are also with the squad leader." Breathing heavily, he utters, "They are near the airfield, but the Japs-"

Bullets whizzing by interrupt Jason's sentence. James runs right and slides behind a rock while Jason hits the dirt and goes prone near a bunch of corpses. A couple of American soldiers are tailing behind, firing upon the Japs ahead. He peers up and sees David and the rest of the squad several hundreds of meters from the airfield. The soldiers move up slowly while some stay behind, suppressing the enemy. Jason points to himself and then to James. Bewildered, James puts his palms on his cheeks in a "I don't know" gesture. He then points to the enemy soldiers up ahead. Now understanding Jason's gesture, James focuses intently, trying to hear a pause in the enemy fire ahead, while still looking at Jason for any further signals. Shouts coming from the Americans ahead were heard amidst gunshots and a few explosions. He takes his index and middle finger and makes a walking finger person and then, pointed up ahead. James nods and sticks his M1 Carbine above his cover and blind fires. The Japs focus their fire where James is, not noticing Jason running across the expanse of dirt and ash between the pair. He slides into cover safely with James. "Shit man, that was fuckin' close. Nice one James!" Jason says. James felt a little better inside, hearing that as he finally felt like he did something that was helpful. He didn't have to rely on his friend David to save him. He can fight the Japs. He can make it out of this hellhole in the Pacific. He will survive.

"But fuck, they now know we're here behind this piece of cover", Jason pointed out. As to reinforce his point, sounds of bullets peppering their cover and ricocheting came from the front of their rock.

"Well… What do you suggest we do then?", James asks.

"You ever went and bagged a deer in the head several hundred yards away?", Jason asks.

Shaking his head, he replied, "No."

"Well that's what I'm about to do. Only instead of deer, it's going to be some fresh, wild Jap.", Jason says with great confidence. He pulls back his bolt, put in a few .30-06 rounds, and cocked his gun. James looked on this process with awe as Jason conducted his reload process expertly.

"Okay, we're going to try to take down a few Japs. First though, let's move ourselves to a better location." The pair go prone and move themselves to a better location. Trying to find the pair, the Japanese troops ahead shot randomly at any cover they saw. Finding a good location close up to the bunkers on the right which was in the enemy gunners' blind spot, Jason stops and aims his gun.

"Spot me a cover. Just give me the direction and approximate distance.", Jason says, "Just let me scope in and…"

He trails away as he concentrates on aiming his rifle. James peers at the enemy machine gunners ahead. "Two hundred meters. Eleven o'clock." A loud crack is heard as Jason kills the enemy machine gunner. "Okay, run. We gotta get out here!" , he shouts. They run to new cover as they've now given away their other position.

They keep at this for a while, Jason picking off several soldiers with his M1903A as James spotted targets. Their comrades had a much easier time approaching the airfield because of their efforts. As they neared the airfield, James notices something. Out of the corner of his eye, a thick gun barrel points out of a heavily camouflaged bunker nearby. Seeing the menacing sight, he yells, "Jason! Get down!" The sounds of a Type 92 HMG ring out throughout the battlefield as the pair fall to the ground.

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 **Author's Note:** This chapter is quite possibly the longest chapter I have ever wrote. I'm proud of what I did with this chapter. It's been a while not writing due to programming classes and all that stuff. Although, it's probably not a good enough excuse for writing some more. I should work on extending my chapter lengths. Action is quite possibly a bit repetitive but the airfield might spice things up a bit. Well, thanks for reading my works and as always... Please rate and review so I can improve. Any help would be much appreciated. Also, go check out my other story, "Adventures of the Sealing Club"!

 ** _-Kaito Sekozawa_**


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